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Platte River Status: A common migrant and fairly common and local nesting species. Tout (1947) reported yellow-headed blackbirds in Lincoln County during 8 April to 5 October. Tout observed the nests of this species but never when eggs or young were present. Rosche (1979) found yellow-headed blackbirds in the lower North Platte River Valley during 14-23 April and 2 September to 8 October. Nesting status along the North Platte River is uncertain although the bird was described as abundant on Keystone Lake in 1978.

Breeding Range: A fairly common and local nesting species in the Eastern Plain physiographic region where nesting birds are restricted to the remnant wetlands in the Rainwater Basin region. Within the Platte River Valley, this species is restricted in nesting to emergent vegetation surrounding deep water borrow pits along Interstate Highway 80. In the Sandhills physiographic region, yellow-headed blackbirds are most numerous on large prairie wetlands in Lincoln and Garden Counties.

Breeding Population: The estimated population of 3,740 breeding pairs made up <0.1% of the total number of breeding birds in our study area in 1979-80.

Habitat: Yellow-headed blackbird was restricted to vegetation associated with prairie wetlands where the mean breeding density was 81.7 pairs/km². We found most nesting yellow-headed blackbirds in our study area in the deep marsh zone of permanently flooded wetlands dominated by cattails, hardstem bulrush and common reed. Rising (1974) reported that nesting in western Kansas was restricted to emergent vegetation in deep permanent wetlands. Stewart (1975) reported that among 104 yellow-headed blackbirds in North Dakota, 55% were in hardstem bulrush and 39% were in cattails. Water depth at 79 nests sites was 7.6 to 81 cm with a mean of 46 cm.

Effect of Habitat Alteration: Because of its dependence on emergent wetland vegetation, yellow-headed blackbird has been negatively impacted by the drainage of natural basin wetlands, particularly in the Rainwater Basin region. By 1985, nearly 97% of the wetlands in the Rainwater Basin had been drained, contributing significantly to the loss of important nesting habitat for yellow-headed blackbirds. De-watering of the Platte River system has produced a negative impact on this species by reducing the extent and distribution of cattail and bulrush communities along that river. Because wetland drainage has not been extensive in the Sandhills, that region currently provides the only safe refuge for nesting yellow-headed blackbirds in our study area.

Nesting Data: Stewart (1975) reported that extreme egg dates among 144 yellow-headed blackbird nests in North Dakota were 10 May to 13 July. Egg dates in Kansas are 20 May to 30 June (Johnsgard 1979).